Serving big pieces of meat is just weird to me. Like, how "people in the West" or whatever tend to just cook or fry only the meat in big chunks (like pork chops?) and serve it with some added vegetables/carbs of choice. And it's supposed to taste good? It doesn't, it's just meat then. I've personally always made it in the "Chinese way" (my own label for it, because it seems to be more common "in the East"..) by chopping the meat into smaller pieces and cooking it with the other ingredients.

And I really dislike being served e.g. poultry still attached to the bones. Like, am I supposed to prepare the meal again by stripping the meat from the bones while eating it? With a fork and a knife!? Should I use my hands? I just don't get it. And how some people just don't add some kind of sauce to their big pieces of meat? EW. SO DRY.

Allekanger wrote:And I really dislike being served e.g. poultry still attached to the bones. Like, am I supposed to prepare the meal again by stripping the meat from the bones while eating it? With a fork and a knife!? Should I use my hands? I just don't get it.

Allekanger wrote:And I really dislike being served e.g. poultry still attached to the bones. Like, am I supposed to prepare the meal again by stripping the meat from the bones while eating it? With a fork and a knife!? Should I use my hands? I just don't get it. And how some people just don't add some kind of sauce to their big pieces of meat? EW. SO DRY.

That's exactly how I cook. I like big chunks of meat, and paultry with bones.

Don't you even like chicken wings? I can eat barbecue chicken wings all the time.

Allekanger wrote:Serving big pieces of meat is just weird to me. Like, how "people in the West" or whatever tend to just cook or fry only the meat in big chunks (like pork chops?) and serve it with some added vegetables/carbs of choice. And it's supposed to taste good? It doesn't, it's just meat then. I've personally always made it in the "Chinese way" (my own label for it, because it seems to be more common "in the East"..) by chopping the meat into smaller pieces and cooking it with the other ingredients.

Same. Like steakhouses make no sense to me--and wouldn't even if their portions weren't super huge. A grilled hunk of beef is one of the least interesting things I can think to eat. Just the notion of eating 300 g or more in one sitting makes me feel a bit ill.

Allekanger wrote:And I really dislike being served e.g. poultry still attached to the bones. Like, am I supposed to prepare the meal again by stripping the meat from the bones while eating it? With a fork and a knife!? Should I use my hands? I just don't get it.

On the other hand, I love poultry on the bone. It's so much more juicy and flavourful when cooked that way.

"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

Here's a generic question (or a few generic questions): What, if anything, do you typically eat? If you had someone over for a meal, what would you probably give them? Does it depend on certain factors?

For me, a typical meal is essentially rice, a vegetable (usually stir-fried), and some kind of meat (most often chicken, but roast pork spareribs are also common). If we had people over for dinner, my parents would most likely make several kinds of vegetables and cook both fish and meat (possibly more than one type of meat as well). They would generally make more or less Malayalee food because that's the option that's least likely to disappoint guests (i.e. they don't really want to risk botching a non-Malayalee person's cuisine, and their Malayalee friends kind of expect Malayalee food anyway). What they specifically make, however, depends on who they have over, whether they can eat spicy food/how spicy they like their food, whether they have any specific dietary preferences or restrictions, etc.

Actually it depends on tastes, budget, and belief I really love vegetarian food and fish so I most usually cook fish and vegetables. But I know most people find it boring so when kids are coming I force myself to cook huge meat and potatoes and I really dislike it.Same for spicy food - my husband and I love it so we basically add it on our plate, not on the dish we share...

I've gotten very lazy. This week I made fish chowder (and the mess it made of my kitchen reminded me why I don't do it more often) but I generally have a handful of regular things I make often. These include:

Pan-fried fish with a green veg and sometimes pasta

Pasta (usually with pesto, sometimes with mushrooms or fake meat)

Käsespätzle

Fake gyros (TVP "chicken" in a pita with yoghurt or ranch dressing)

Burritos

Quesadillas

Tuna salad

I used to make polenta or pizza (with premade crusts) fairly often but I've fallen out of the habit.

One thing most of the dishes I make have in common is that they don't require frequent trips to the store. If I have a green vegetable, it's usually zucchini or kale, because those last week in the fridge. The fish and the TVP live in the freezer, as do the tortillas.

I'm not sure what I would make for a guest because it's been so damn long since I've had one.

"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

When I have guests over, I make something they probably never had before. Like vegetarian haggis, East African stew, soup from a foreign country, a Mongolian pasta dish, something Amish with a fancy sauce... I also theme the place, like I put on matching clothes (if I have) and put on some music from that country in the background. I spend quite some time researching authentic dishes Most authentic everyday-dishes don't contain loads of expensive ingredients, they often have very few ingredients, too. The biggest plus is, that if I mess it up, they won't notice I also always have some matching hot sauce on hand, if the guests like their food spicy, but I never serve spicy food by default.

Here in Greece, similar to other Southern European countries, people have an early breakfast (toast or bread with jam or honey, or cereal), then a large lunch at any time between 1 and 3pm. That is followed by a siesta, then a usually light evening late in the evening, betwen 8 and 10pm, depending on the family.

Greeks often eat out at an ουζερί (ouzeri) or a ταβέρνα (taverna). At the ουζερί it is traditional to order several small shared dishes, rather than individual dishes. Meals are social events that can last several hours, as Greeks like to take their time with their food and drink. At tavernas, however, people will order individual dishes and share a salad or side dish. In recent years, there has been a decline in eating out due to the economic crisis.